Taconic, a leading provider of life sciences solutions, and Vivo Bio Tech Ltd., a full-service contract research organization, announced they have entered into an agreement under which Vivo Bio Tech will gain rights to breed and distribute select Taconic mouse and rat models in India. Through this arrangement, the two companies will greatly improve the availability of high-quality animals for biomedical research in India.

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry in India is growing at an estimated rate of 12 percent and 20 percent annually -- through a combination of new in-house drug development projects and collaboration with western companies -- making it a hub for biomedical innovation. The Indian CRO industry is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 31 percent to reach USD 3 billion by the year 2015.

"One of the greatest obstacles to drug discovery in the region is the lack of a local supply of quality laboratory animals," noted Todd Little, Taconic President and CEO. "Together, Taconic and Vivo Bio Tech will address that challenge by significantly improving investigators' access to animal models that are proven to be highly valuable to biomedical research, yet unavailable in the local market."

"With access to high-quality lab animal models from a world leader in the field, Vivo Bio Tech is poised to become the preferred provider of research animal models and contract research services in the rapidly growing pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets in India," said Vivo Bio Tech Chief Executive Officer Dr. A. Sankaranarayanan.

Vivo Bio Tech will breed and distribute select Taconic animal models, including a variety of inbred and outbred mice and rats, as well as the proprietary Taconic Knockout Repository of more than 4,000 knockout lines.

"The Taconic Knockout Repository eliminates the time traditionally required for model design and development, which can speed drug development for investigators in the region," Mr. Little said. The agreement gives the Indian pharmaceutical & biotech research community access to Taconic's advanced scientific services, including model derivation, cryopreservation, genotyping, health assessment, and custom model generation.

All local breeding will be done at Vivo Bio Tech's 125,000-square-foot pre-clinical research facility in Andhra Pradesh, India. The facility is accredited by AAALAC (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care) and registered with CPCSEA (Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals) for breeding and commercialization of Murine Pathogen Free™ (MPF™) animals. Throughout the breeding process, Vivo Bio Tech's highly qualified and well-trained staff will follow Taconic's rigorous standard operating procedures to ensure quality and integrity.

About Vivo Bio Tech Ltd.Vivo Bio Tech (based in Andhra Pradesh, India) is a full service CRO offering drug development and discovery services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide in accordance with OECD-GLP, and AAALAC guidelines. The company offers services in the areas of in-vitro, in-vivo, toxicity studies, pharmacological investigations, pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic studies. For more details about Vivo Bio Tech, visit www.vivobio.com.

About TaconicTaconic is an industry leader providing life science solutions to researchers worldwide for more than 60 years. Taconic accelerates drug discovery by providing fast, convenient access to a full suite of more than 4,000 off-the-shelf in vivo mouse and rat models, as well as custom designed models. Taconic provides study-ready cohorts, including tissue or genetically humanized models, supported by reliable data that can advance early development work. Our scientific expertise, innovative technology and breeding services, enables researchers to confidently partner with Taconic for their entire spectrum of in vivo resource needs. Additional information about Taconic is available at www.taconic.com.